Election of 1788 (Things Have Changed)
The United States Presidential Election of 1788 was the first quadrennial presidential election. It was held from November 1 to December 1, 1788, as electors met and submitted electoral votes. The Electoral College unanimously elected George Washington president, and John Jay finished second, winning the vice presidency. It was the first election to be held under the new Constitution that replaced the Articles of Confederation. Before, the United States lacked an executive branch, and thus the President of the Continental Congress acted as de facto ''head of state. Under the new Constitution, the President would serve as head of state and head of government while leading the new executive branch, with the Vice President replacing him should the President become unable to continue to serve. The election introduced the Electoral College system that would be used to elect president and vice president. Each state would be allotted an amount of electors equal to its combined Congressional representation in the House and Senate, with each elector having two votes. In 1788, every state chose electors through the state legislature. The candidate who received the highest amount of electoral votes and a majority would become president, and the second-place finisher would become president, no matter the total. Prior to the election, it was clear that former Commander of the Revolutionary Army George Washington, being the most respected and beloved man in the nation, would win, likely receiving a vote from every elector, which he did. The vice presidency was far less certain as eleven candidates were given serious consideration, eight of them receiving electoral votes. In the end, John Jay received more electoral votes from more states than anybody else, though the state of Virginia, which voted Washington and Jay, could have elected seven candidates president by virtue of having the most votes. Candidates At this time, federal political parties did not exist, so candidates were classified as being a pro-constitutionalist or an anti-constitutionalist, or otherwise categorized according to a specific focus like abolition. Many candidates were considered by electors, but these candidates were viewed as the most realistic candidates. Pro-Constiutionalists * John Adams, Ambassador to Great Britain, from Massachusetts * John Armstrong, former Major General, from Georgia * Nathaniel Greene, former Major General, from Rhode Island * John Hancock, Governor of Massachusetts * Samuel Huntington, Governor of Connecticut * John Jay, Secretary of Foreign Affairs, of New York * John Rutledge, Governor of South Carolina * George Washington, former Commander of the Revolutionary Army, of Virginia File:JohnAdams.jpg| Ambassador '''John Adams' Massachusetts File:John Armstrong.jpg| Former Maj. General John Armstrong Georgia File:Greene portrait.jpg| Former Maj. General Nathanael Greene Rhode Island File:John Hancock.jpg| Governor John Hancock Massachusetts File:Samuel Huntington.jpg| Governor Samuel Huntington Connecticut File:John Jay (Gilbert Stuart portrait).jpg| Secretary John Jay New York File:John Rutledge.jpg| Governor John Rutledge South Carolina File:George Washington.jpg| Former General George Washington Virginia Coming into the election, it was well-known that Washington would win the presidency, so focus revolved around electing a pro-Constitution vice president. Adams and Jay were seen as the frontrunners, with Northerners supporting their bids to balance the ticket. As such, Hancock and Huntington also attempted candidacies by being Northern alternatives. However, the Deeper South also wanted a vice president, so they put forth Rutledge and Armstrong for that purpose. Though Armstrong also served in the Revolution, Northerners proposed Greene as a dark horse candidate using his Revolution background to combat the dark horse candidate of anti-Constitution general and Washington rival Horatio Gates. Anti-Constitutionalists * George Clinton, Governor of New York * Horatio Gates, former Major General, from New York * Edward Telfair, former Governor of Georgia File:George Clinton by Ezra Ames.jpg| Governor George Clinton New York File:HoratioGatesByStuart.jpg| Former Maj. General Horatio Gates New York File:Edward Telfair.jpg| Former Governor Edward Telfair Georgia In an attempt to elect an opponent of the Constitution vice president, many agreed that George Clinton represented their best chance as he could appeal to both Northerners and Southerners. However, others put forth fellow New York Horatio Gates, believing that his victory at Saratoga could propel his support in an election. Telfair ran hoping to offer the South anti-Constitution representation. Abolitionists * Gouverneur Morris, Delegate to the Continental Congress, from New York File:GouverneurMorris.jpeg| Delegate Gouverneur Morris New York Morris fiercely supported the Constitution and even wrote its preamble; still, the inclusion of protections for slavery disgusted him, and he hoped that a candidacy might serve as a protest against slavery and enable him to fight it. Electoral College Procedures Selection In the 1788 election, every state chose electors through state legislatures. The Constitution permitted anyone not holding a major federal or state office to serve as an electoral. Voting Under the Constitution, every elector received two votes to assign to two different candidates, contingent that one candidate not be from the elector's home state. Electors met in state meetings from the period between November 1 and December 1 to deliberate and vote. 1788 started an "all together" precedent where electors in each state would cast votes collectively. In the state meetings, electors would discuss candidates and vote in constant anonymous straw polls on the candidates discussed. After a candidate earned a majority in the straw poll, he would win that state's electoral votes and be eliminated as voting continued for the second candidate. Announcement States did not announce results as they happened, instead submitting the votes without official word. The Constitution established that the official results would be read out by the President of the Senate (the Vice President), but since one did not exist yet, the President of the Continental Congress, Cyrus Griffin, would on December 15, 1788. This would be the first time that the election results would be announced, scheduled so that it would prevent the President-elect and Vice President-elect from appearing on ballots for other offices. Results As Cyrus Griffin read out the results, no candidate stood out as the likely runner-up. but anti-Constitution vice president looked very likely as George Clinton and Horatio Gates led throughout. The result ended up relying on Virginia's twelve votes, the highest amount of any state, as that total could have propelled any candidate to victory other than those who received no votes (Morris, Rutledge, and Telfair) and Huntington (who only had three votes). If one of those four candidates won Virginia, then Horatio Gates would win with sixteen votes. Ultimately, Virginia voted John Jay, giving him twenty votes from three states, the best performance from non-Washington candidates, winning him the vice presidency. George Washington won every vote from the first ballot, unanimously electing him president. State-by-State Candidate Results Category:Things Have Changed